2. Overview

Setting up Linux for use as a web-based kiosk is similar to setting up Linux as a graphical workstaion, with a few extra considerations. If the machine is to be a standalone unit, it must boot straight into kiosk mode. Furthermore, the browser environment must be modified in to disable standard dialog screens and to eliminate parts of the browser that allow inappropriate interaction, such as the Location Bar in Netscape.

Essentially a kiosk website is self-contained. Users navigate through the site via clicks with a pointing device. The pointing device can be a touchscreen, a trackball, or a mouse. Mice are difficult to secure in a public area.

A Linux kiosk can be connected back to a home site via a direct network or PPP link, requesting pages from the home site, or it can be a self-contained website, running Apache and any corresponding CGI modules.